There has been some non-broadcast media discussion about a battle that took place in Syria on February 7th, 2018. According to the generally accepted overview, U.S. and coalition forces appear to have killed scores of Russian mercenaries, some reports put the number as high as 200.

Officially Russia has denied their troops were engaged in the failed attack against U.S. and coalition forces; however, actions by Russia since the battle seem to convey a more confirming message.

Bloomberg reported around 100 Russian contracted mercenary soldiers, hired by Syria’s Bashir Assad, were killed by a coalition force of U.S. and Kurdish forces in what would easily be the deadliest clash between Russians and Americans since the cold war.

More than 200 contract soldiers, mostly Russians fighting on behalf of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, died in a failed attack on a base held by U.S. and mainly Kurdish forces in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region, two of the Russians said. The U.S. official put the death toll in the fighting at about 100, with 200 to 300 injured, but was unable to say how many were Russians. (link)

The contracted mercenaries are likely from a Russian company Wagner, similar to the U.S. company Blackwater. Because they are not officially Russian soldiers there’s a great deal of built in plausible deniability. As Bloomberg also noted: ““This is a big scandal and a reason for an acute international crisis,” said Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat and lawmaker who’s now an independent political analyst. “But Russia will pretend nothing happened.””

Coalition service members in an advise, assist, and accompany capacity were co-located with SDF partners during the attack eight kilometers east of the agreed-upon Euphrates River de-confliction line.

In defense of Coalition and partner forces, the Coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression against partners engaged in the Global Coalition’s defeat-Daesh mission.

The Coalition remains committed to focusing on the defeat-Daesh mission in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and asserts its non-negotiable right to act in self-defense. (link)

Video encapsulating the event (prompted, just hit play):

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The bottom line is Bashir Assad, Russia and Iran are working together in Syria to keep Assad in power. A military force within of that nexus, mostly paid Russians, attacked a U.S. protected compound with tanks, artillery, mortars and rockets.

The U.S. responded with overwhelming air power (drones, B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets, Apache helicopters and AC-130 gun ships), raining down precision-guided munitions upon the enemy assault battalion (300 – 500), while disabling their communications capability, for approximately three hours. When the dust settled around 200 Russians were dead and hundreds wounded.

That was a jaw-droppingly sneaky and aggressive action by the technically ‘unofficial’ Russians; and an even more stunning response by the official U.S. military [Trump ROE].

The aggressive pro-Assad group (“unofficially Russian military”) was officially stomped into the sand. Therein we discover the reason for the entire episode to be kept on the down-low by the Russian government.

The Russian Government cannot be public or protest the response because technically the Russian government must pretend they had nothing to do with it. Simultaneously, the U.S. government cannot be public or protest the Russian attack because technically they too must pretend the Russian government had nothing ‘officially’ to do with it.

However, to the intellectually honest international audience: the Russians just attacked the Americans, and the Americans opened a can of whoop-ass on the Russians in response.

Oh dear.

And notice how the limited public disclosure response was from U.S. CentCom.? The U.S. Central Command is located at McDill Air-Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Did you see the latest video release from Russia?

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The Putin nuclear video has nothing to do with Mar-a-Lago you knucklehead, the video is connected to the “Dead Russian Mercenaries story”, and a less-than-subtle jab back at U.S. CentCom.

U.S. military forces responded and stopped an unprovoked attack by pro-Regime forces against #SDF units in eastern #Syria, an active theater against #ISIS. We will act to defend ourselves and our partners working to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. https://t.co/T95aOvN7UV

354 Responses to The Increasingly Mysterious U.S. -vs- Russia Battle at Deir Ezzor in Syria…

Putin’s announcement was related to the Russian perception future US developments of anti-ballistic missile systems tied with NATO encroachment on Russia demanded a Russian response, which has been in the wind since 2001.

In the end, the US will be forced out of Syria, and I think that’s exactly what’s Trump’s aiming for. It’s why he agreed to the ceasefire with Putin. He can’t just cut and run because of the ZOG lobby and the general deep state proclivity for regime change. In the end, the Turkish relationship is far more important to NATO than the Kurds, and if forced to choose, the US will ditch the Kurds. There’s already increasing tensions with Arabs within the Kurdish administered areas. I imagine Iran is already preparing an insurgent style of warfare that generated the body bags in Iraq. US Air Force isn’t so useful for bombing IEDs, ambushes, suicide attacks, etc.

There’s really no justifiable America First reason to remain in Syria, but plenty of globalist ones. That’s why the mainstream press is writing article after article about the lack of strategic initiatives taken in Syria.

That “Turkish relationship” to NATO is going to bite them (and, therefore, the US) in the ass!!!! Erdogan is dangerous and set to turn Turkey into a caliphate once again!!!! Stupid, stupid, stupid, IMO.

We live in a false paradigm reality, bounded by faux science, fake history, filtered news, financed by a fiat currency and directed by demonic warlords. We are on autopilot to Armageddon, with few sheepdogs protecting dumbed down sheeple. Rote indoctrination has omitted critical information on the root causes of all human suffering, the money changers in OUR temple. Read “All Wars Are Bankers Wars” by Michael Rivero at WhatReallyHappened(.)com and watch, share the video version….

from the movie “The International”
“The IBBC is a bank. Their objective isn’t to control the conflict, it’s to control the debt that the conflict produces. You see, the real value of a conflict, the true value, is in the debt that it creates. You control the debt, you control everything. You find this upsetting, yes? But this is the very essence of the banking industry, to make us all, whether we be nations or individuals, slaves to debt.”

This incident actually detracts from the Neo-Cons’ narrative of Putin as the world’s most dangerous boogeyman. Russia has shown itself to be inept, even inside its immediate sphere of influence. Russia lost its influence in the Ukraine to the U.S., and now this debacle in Syria.

Russia presents an existential threat due to its nuclear arsenal, but when it comes to its ability to project power, Russia is not much of a threat of any kind.

Perfectly stated, blass. Russia and China’s long-term goal is a multi-polar hegemony – Russia, China and the U.S. rather than the current uni-polar hegemony we dwell under today. All three are champions of the NWO with different political agenda’s and world views.

I don’t think Russia or China have any interest in a worldwide Communist revolution anymore.

Russia has become a hyper-nationalistic state bordering of fascist. And China is Communist in name only, in that its economy is wholly capitalistic. For instance, China’s capital gains tax is zero, that’s right zero. Politically, China is more like a paternalistic Confucian empire, with the Communist Party playing the daddy “who knows best.”

The only people dreaming of anything resembling a Communist worldwide revolution are the leftists among the American and European political and academic elites.

If Mao could come back [horrific thought], he would personally shoot the current members of China’s “communist” leadership for counter revolutionary actions…like allowing private ownership/profit making. The Chinese reds have evolved into fascists, which works much better than the straight marxist model.

Lol. Russia threw off the control of those infected by the Western mental illness of Communism 25 years ago although the Soros funded Globalists are still fighting to regain power. Putin represents the anti communist, conservative, Christian, ANTI NWO/Globalist faction. Currently America is infested with Communists who control academia, media and culture and have made huge inroads into the Democrat party. Calling others naive is very unpersuasive btw. Who even falls for that any more besides Libgressives?

And the Russian military in Syria is literally funded by Iran. Little known fact is that before Russia Iranian “experts” tried to serve the same military role in Syria. But they were mostly incompetent.

Indeed they have, and Putin is not bluffing about the new weapons either.
Russian scientists and engineers are leading edge in many fields and any serious academic will tell you the ability to read Russian is essential if you want to keep abreast
of new technology.Adversity is the mother of invention,not piles of wasted cash.
That was a final warning to the out of control war mongers in the west.
40,000 spf lead based sun block might help because our ruling psychopaths are not
going to listen.
Muh Russia,combined with NATO expansion eastward has brought us to the brink of WWIII.Putin has been warning the west for 14 years that this would happen.
As he said: Are you listening now ?

LOL. Your comment is as persuasive as “LOL to all the Trump lovers. Such dupes.” Trump and Putin share the same enemies. Did you ever seek to understand why that is? Have you figured out who the enforcer for the creation of a one world government is yet? Hint, it’s NOT Russia.

We’re ex-crypto intelligence, but leave it to Sundance/CTH and other astute observers to parse these matters. Meantime, our crashingly naive reaction is: Hoo-rah! Under DJT and SecDef “Mad Dog” Mattis [our ideal], America is once more playing smart and tough. Sense is that, whatever the convoluted circumstances, this Administration knows the score.

Trump’s daily Intelligence Briefings must be a hoot. B52s against a ragtag bunch of “unofficial” Russian mercenaries? Quick, Henry– the Flit!

You mean like in the forever part where US Media labled all Kurds as communists when it suited our interests.
Its been like 40+ years, but back in the day when Saddam was killing Kurds, that is before he was gassing them. Either the NYTimes, Time Mag or US&World Report, maybe all three, ran a not so subtle story on how Kurds = commies

Hmm? Spanish Civil War, 1936 to 1939, the Republicans against the Nationalists, anyone?
Who says history doesn’t repeat itself?
Calendars do, this years calendar is the same as 1945’s, the invasion of Okinawa took place on April Fools, Easter Sunday, April 1st, 1945. Easter this year is also on April Fool’s, April 1, 2018. Ominous.

Anything happening in Syria, heck, who am I kidding, the entire Middle East, requires an earnest desire on the seekers behalf to read several sources, including our military, to be able to ascertain the facts on the ground. To rely upon one ‘official’ source, no matter the topic, at least these days, is cheating oneself out of relevant knowledge and facts.

There are so, so many agendas at play in Syria it’s nearly a full-time job just to keep up with it all.

I’d add Elijah J. Magnier’s site to Moon’s. The saker tends to be sympathetic to all things Russia. His insights are helpful to the mix of others to reach a 20′ view of the geopolitics at play. Pat Lang’s site is helpful as well.

Trump: “I’m putting an end to these B.S. Rules of Engagement, General Mattis.”
Mattis: “Yes, Sir!”
Trump: “I am untying your hands to give the troops on the ground the ability to react appropriately when attacked. Can you give me an oo-rah?”
Mattis: “OO-RAH! Mr. President! OO-RAH!”
Trump: “I want to win. I trust your judgment. Now go kick some butt and take names!”
Mattis: “Yes, Sir!”
Trump: “Make sure our boys, even those “advisors” in Syria, have the weapons and resources they need to get the job done and defend themselves.”
Mattis: “Yes, Sir!”

Mattis to the commanders: “No more will you be restricted by foolish rules of engagement. You will not attack unless ordered but if you are attacked you are hereby empowered to unleash holy hell on the enemy and use overwhelming force and power! We are the most powerful military on the planet, time to act like it! If anyone dares attack you, I want you to send them straight to hell with extreme prejudice! I repeat, if you are attacked you are not to ask permission to retaliate and when you retaliate I want you to hit the enemy as hard and as fast as you can with everything you’ve got! Nobody messes with the U.S. Armed Forces and lives to tell the tale! Now give me an OO-RAH!”

This engagement has another historical perspective worth considering. In 1973, the Russians were key to the rebirth of the Egyptian and Syrian Armies. The Russians also occupied or “directed” many key members of the Army and Defense Command Structures of both nations. Then two events occurred that heralded the 1973 Yom Kippur War; the Russians were expelled from the militaries of both nations and the Russian military went on a “cold” activity offensive vs the US and our allies.

The more ominous view of this engagement is that the Russians were sold out by the Iranians as their strategic business arrangement is being redone, while Iranians and Assad go on the offensive in conjunction with the Turks to end the Syrian civil war in order to focus on Israel. The Russians are essentially being told to be happy wit their base in Syria (also the logistical hub for Russian equipment) and revenue from equipment sales. They are also being put on notice that equipment from Chinese NORINCO is now available, and the Russians and Chinese are about to enter a bidding war to sell stuff to Iran and Syria. In Assad’s mind, he is alive and will be allowed to govern as an Iranian Client.

This was an opening skirmish the US needs to now consider the depth of their commitment in Syria and is worth the blood and treasure vs the inevitable outcome, an Iranian Client no matter how you slice it. The US needs to rethink where to place their main line of resistance in the Middle East, which is likely to end up centered on Israel, Jordon to some extent and the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. The key point is, the US needs to consider how to physically reduce its footprint in Syria now.

The interesting aspect is Turkey. They may be an Islamic State, but they need to tread carefully between being Iranian friends, pre-empting the Kurds and fending off Russian desires for a free path to the Mediterranean Sea. Note, in WWI Russia was beating the snot out of Turkey, occupied much of Eastern Turkey and had to give allot of it back after 1917 Revolution left them no real seat at bargaining table. The Turks need NATO more than NATO wants or needs them at this point.

In this this day and age, the warm water ports theories of why Russia does this or that is so not even 20th century, its more like 19th century.
It’s group think at it is laziest.

Second, Turkey…
long term USA allay, but that was when the USA was able to sell the real fear of the GOD denying COMMIES.
Even longer history with Russia, some of it had to have some bright spots.
So, what is afoot in Turkey is anyones guess, I am thinking they are going down their own path towards being the defacto power that sits atop the islamic world. The crown.
Of coarse, Iran and others have plenty to say about that role but that is the gambit Turkey is likely playing.

The coup attempt is what got me thinking something is not adding up. The only thing that makes sense… hold on their is a knock at my door brb

Turkey is causing us nothing but trouble here in Germany; from rioting in the streets against the Kurds, to criminal clans in Hamburg, Berlin, Essen, and elsewhere, and political interference on many levels, facilitated and funded by Erdogan via the various Mosques and “prayer rooms” popping up like diseased mushrooms all over the German landscape…

Airheadman fancies himself as the next Kaliph: don’t let him have his wish…

The only problem is (as always in the Arab world) – get rid of one insane despot, you get something even worse…

You ignore history, real live treaties and geography in your comments. The Russians and the Turkish nation have been at odds over the Eastern provinces and border regions around Turkey for the past 200 years. Now that there are rich material deposits in the area as well as being an avenue for an energy pipeline, there is now even more at stake. The Russians have an unpleasant habit of not forgetting history and wanting to regain control of the region. The Russians DO NOT have unfettered access from their warm water ports in the Black Sea to the rest of the world by treaty that the West is keen to enforce and that desire remains very real.

The coup attempt was utterly a fake. I lived in worked in Turkey for a long time and had many friends among their military. That coup attempt was so feeble and not in keeping with past military resets of the government as to be pathetic. It was nothing more than a house cleaning by Erdogan to pre-empt the 4 x times the Turkish Military reset the government away from becoming an Islamic Republic in the past.

Erdogan is a despot in the making and like Putin trying to rekindle the Spirit of the USSR, he is trying to rekindle some of the magic from the old Ottoman days for Turkey.

I know you have moved on, we all do with the 24/7 news cycle.
My contention about water ports comment was to illustrate the observation that most pundants start with and end with, the 19th century geopolitical world view that Russia needs a warm water port in its empire building efforts, when the reality has dozens of them through leasing arrangements. I am not saying Russia is not projecting influence aboard by rejecting the warm water port theories, i am saying when ever Russia does something to carry forward its interests, to start and end every discussion with, “Well, it the old warm water port desire, is frankly closing down a deeper analysis of what is going on.”

Second, read the statement about, “Even longer history with Russia, some of it had to have some bright spots.” with a little bit of sarcasm. I am saying Russia and Turkey have a long history of competing interests, and very little of it has bright spots.

As for the coup attempt, your right to a degree, Erdogan either staged it or he co-opted it to his advantage. Just don’t asks too many questions about what may have happened if the coup was successful given all that is going on in Syria, with ISIS and with Iran, let alone jidhadist terrorism.

The coup attempt was weak because it was a transparent attempt of a redux of Muslim Brotherhood failure in Eygpt.

Who was one of the first people to visit the President after he was inaugurated, and which was one of the first countries the President went to visit?
While I don’t always agree with him, I think Wictor may have a point: this was a signal to any ally in that region that America will honor its commitments as long as they keep up their end (and what we did during Iraq Part 1 did a lot to damage any trust in us, on this Wictor is very correct, then Obama/Hillary/Kerry made this even worse — so we have a lot of hazardous waste clean up and decontamination to undo; this is what I believe this is too). Also, it means of course if they don’t keep up their end, we can always pull out.

I wonder what facts on the ground narrative the water carriers, no the “palanquin” slaves would be yabbering about following the over run of a major coalition base if he was not.

Oh, that right ISIS would still be running things in that part of the world.

The scary thing about the video cited as under pinning the attack on Ambassador Stevens is it was quietly floated a few days before, that is, “it was placed in some MSM media context”, before the attack(of coarse not its future psuedo roll a few days later, but the MSM was talking about it)

So Yes, I am saying premeditated because one can never tell whether it is the chicken or the egg riddle. I am guessing Ambassador Steven may have been threating to go public with something besides the security related non support narrative.

What could that be, hmmmm….
Let play word jumble
“In the land down under, what follows the heatwave season of NYC?”

Could have been IRGC ‘volunteers’, it’s been ALLEGED that Iranian volunteers have been facing US troops in Afghanistan for years, all part of getting used to how we fight and how we train our ‘partners’to fight. Nothing beats hands-on experience.
IRGC and their Hezz puppets have been in Syria for a long time, IRGC just puts on Hezz nametags and we have that plausable deniability thing again. Only way to get combat experienced fighters is to throw them into combat.

Thank you PDJT for fighting and winning the MSM collusion battles with the deep state.

Other wise the MSM would be making a noose out of giving the commanders on the ground a free hand on the projection and use of force.

Lets hope Iran does something really stupid like use a ballistic missile against our troops in Syria, then they will really start to understand true application of USMilitary Doctrine, the doctrine where the politicians say you can take the gloves off, go an piss lead.

Forgot two more items that cement Russia to both Iran and Syria. Russia and Iran share the Caspian Sea and huge oil/gas deposits have been found under it. Russia can increase its take by cooperating with Iran, protecing Iranian and Russian interests and using Russian transmission infrastructure to move some of the Iranian oil to the Med. The other countries bordering the Caspian will be dealing primarily with Russia when it comes to defining their shares – if any – in an area the US has a tenuous, at best, right to be meddling in. Russia can also use those shares in the oil to reel a few of the Stabs back into its sphere too.
As for Syria you can add ‘yet MORE oil’ to the list of reasons to dig in and oppose Israel. A few years back geologists discovered large oil/gas deposits offshore in the Med in waters contested both by Israel and Syria. There’s no major development yet, probably due to a Syrian-Israeli standoff but a reinvigorated Russian presence will definately tip the balance towards Syria. Right now there’s no big hurry to develop the area outside of the Israelis but it’s another chip in play.
Don’t let anyone tell you it ain’t about the oil.

David Ross, an American Jew, former top negotiator for the US in the Israel-Palestinian arena, was on Fox yesterday. His take on Russia was crystal clear–Bibi and the IDF and Mossad chiefs have been to Moscow 7 times in the last 18 months. The King of Saudi Arabia, in poor health and aged, went to Moscow. (The King of Jordan also has gone to Moscow recently).That clearly indicates that Putin and the Russians are the new deciding power in the ME, according to Ross’s interpretation of the actions of ME leaders.

Using realism, facts, and understanding what is not what some ideology or propaganda hopes for, the Russians represent the Eurasian development. That is a challenge to the status quo. But even Saudi Arabia has plans for a new future.

Turkey and Egypt want to be attached to the Eurasian development.
The West, represented by US Globalists and the EU, don’t want growth and development in the third world, particularly MENA. Thus the wars that reach from Libya to Afghanistan. And some fools want to ignite Iran and Lebanon next.

Under these regions run oil and gas, but limited potable water and food supplies. These sectors are lead by Russia, which also is the largest land mass holding these natural resources, the heartland of Eurasia. That is destiny, as once the USA was destiny by geography to Western development and domination.

The two tectonic plates of West versus Eurasia have come to collision in Syria.
It could end swiftly and less bloody, or it could be prolonged and very bloody.
Trump has indicated the former with words. McMaster and Centcom has chosen the latter.
We’ll see which policy continues . . .

The Russians were planning a comeback during the 90s and the US getting bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq was a godsend. The eight years reign of our first black, LEFT-over 60s revolutionary piece of Shiite POtuS was the capstone to their prayers. His lack of leadership, bordering on abandonment, in the Mideast gave Russia the golden opportunity it needed and the rest is history.
Russia has shorter LOCs than the US in the Mideast and NATO seems to have lost its desire to defend itself so why should Russia stop moving forward? The Russians have Russian-oriented leaders with a clear vision of Russia’s future while the US is leaning toward electing airhead celeb POTUSs who can sing and dance while talking like a social worker. Doesn’t look promising.

True analysis of the American Dilemma. We have a Leader now. But not much after MAGA.

Also, we have a very rigid view of the future. Many “leaders” in all sectors, industry, finance, military, and geopolitical strategy are fearful of competing. They want to hold onto a hegemonic edge, a unipolar position of dominance. Thus, conflict and wars.

I think, if we can get reformed by MAGA, and repositioned with a strong, educated Middle Class, we can compete with China and Russia in a multi-polar world. We can benefit from the coming Eurasian Development, an enormous 4.5-5 Billion person market that will be formed with a modern infrastructure (paid for by China).

This is like finding 4 or 5 European-sized markets for our products and services.
Why wouldn’t we want to enter that market and compete?

What I’m afeared of is that the prog prix will limit Trump to 4 years which is nowhere near enough time to begin to undo the damage the POtuS POS (can’t say that enuff) created. While Barry was busy stabbing America in the back – polite way of phrasing it – the rest of our ‘competitors’ were busy making hay on what he was ruining overseas. Trump’s fighting an uphill battle trying to regain ground while Russia, Iran and NK are blazing new paths.
I still see China refocusing to India as India’s not going to stand for China’s blatant attacks too much longer. China may have the military technology edge on India but India will have the population edge by mid-century and, with Russian and US help in the military technology areas will be a real threat to China.
US press is bending over backwards to not publish the huge military provocations China’s pushing on India, it’s like ignoring that 800-pound gorilla in your lap. Unless someone backs down soon we may not have to wait for a China-India confrontation that will reduce the numbers of Asian consumers considerably.

I’m glad that no Americans were hurt and that the air attack was so devastating to attackers. We should be clear though that this was an ideal situation for us (long distances, no civilian population, etc.). Yes, we did respond in time and use your superiority in air power but every situation will not be so tractable.

In addition, there are very real questions of what the heck we are doing there. Are we trying to destabilize Assad or not? Do we really want a Sunni replacement in Syria? There are a lot of people fighting each other and no clear sides and no clear US interest. Definitely no clear threat to US territory.

My heart aches for the Kurds. Then again, what is in it for us? Should we be the World’s policeman or just intervene when really worth it to us (this means allowing some people we like to get screwed).

Turks are interesting (some good and bad inside there, lately more towards bad). I would not underestimate them though. My Dad served with them in Korea. By far the toughest soldiers he ever saw, man for man. Ended up doing MAG work with them in the early 60s.

Wagner’s troops had smart phones and were calling home all during the week long build up before the Deir Ezzor attack. Likely cheap Chinese made smart phones with android operating systems using the Syrian cell phone network for an international call.

IOW, these smart phones had more back doors than a billionaire’s bordello.

Effing Ahhaaa, they might has well have put the planned attack date up on the Jumbotron in the Cowboy’s Jerryworld stadium.

Next, the bridge that Russian sappers threw across Euphrates River — which is the “Deconfliction line” between Assad and our proxy forces — was knocked out by the Kurds via a water release of a damn up-stream the day before the attack…

…and they attacked anyway.

There is no way that the GRU (Russian Military intelligence) was unaware of Wagner’s poor operational security. Either the cloud of yes men around Putin didn’t let that information through. Or they did and Putin utterly miscalculated the likely American reaction from reading our press.

Which would be one of the few times those MSM arse wipes were good for anything.

That said, the “Deir Ezzor Turkey Shoot” demonstrates the real problem with a ‘Mission Impossible’ force is that it has to be secret to be deniable. The Russian Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) reinforced Battalion Tactical Group in Syria was anything but secret.

Putin is used to Obama’s and Merkel’s lack of political will letting him play ‘Hybrid War’ gambits successfully via “Public Secrets” like Wagner PMC. This game let rubber spine Post-modern leaders in the West play the ‘appeasement gambit’ without paying a Chamberlin like price when the fecal matter meets the rotary air impeller.

In Trump, Putin faced a ‘willful’ American President unlike any since 1988.

At Deir Ezzor, Pres. Trump took the “Open Secret” opportunity of ‘Hybrid War’ to make a deniable real war on Russian forces. In doing so, Pres. Trump set an international precedent that anyone (armed with nuclear weapons that can threaten Russia) can destroy a Russian “Hybrid War” proxy forces and Putin will eat it.

And since Trump won so “biggly” against Putin, the media here won’t report it because “Muh Russia” is more important than showing Trump the maniac…especially since the victim of the mania was Putin.

Putin miscalculated on the character and capability of Trump as badly as Democrats did from 2015-to-date.

Russian accused of running cocaine ring arrested in Germany – Houston Chroniclehttps://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Russian-accused-of-running-cocaine-ring-arrested-12722530.phpMOSCOW (AP) — It sounds like a thriller: nearly half a ton of cocaine was hidden in bags at the Russian Embassy’s school in Buenos Aires before being loaded on a Russian government plane bound for Moscow. Yet that’s exactly what happened in a recent sting run by Russia and Argentina to nab a drug ring. Officials said Friday that the alleged ring lord, Andrei Kovalchuk, was arrested in Germany, but controversy is still swirling around the drug bust. Russian and Argentine officials say they pooled efforts to catch the drug smugglers after at least 12 bags with cocaine with a street value of about $61 million were found at a Russian Embassy school in the Argentine capital.

Either way, you can now expect random bizarre behavior by the Russians in Syria, Donbas, and elsewhere pretty regularly as long as Putin remains Russian Dictator.

“The Deir Ezzor Turkey Shoot” shows that the Putin regime is on the “irrational regime scale” somewhere between that of the Serb regime of Slobodan Milošević and the Romanian regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu.

And Putin is not facing a President Bill Clinton or Pres. George H.W. Bush.

In Pres. Trump, Putin has someone following Ronald Reagan’s oil export Grand Strategy to crash world il prices without needing the Saudi’s, and with the self confidence to DELEGATE TO LOCAL COMMANDERS THE AUTHORITY TO ENGAGE RUSSIAN FORCES IN SELF-DEFENSE.

Not even Pres. Reagan had that level of self-confidence and bottom Trust in the US Military.

The latter comes of having Gen Mattis as Sec Def.

The question is what we are going to do when the Russian “loose nukes scenario” comes to pass when Pres. Trump’s “Frack them to death” scenario collapses the Russian oil economy along with the OPEC nation’s.

It is only the collapse of Venezuela as an oil producer that has kept oil prices high as American oil production has spiked a million barrels a day in 18-month, and right now the additional oil rigs will see another 1.5 million barrels a day added in the next 18-months. At 2022 at the latest, the USA will be a net oil exporter as well as a LNG and coal exporter.

The world economic and political implications of that are both huge and very hostile to Russian interests.

Well, I suppose we could, very kindly I might add, point out to the Russians that they don’t necessarily HAVE to be an economy based on only resource exportation — it has been a rather tragic consequence of their own version of “trillions of dollars at stake” that has gotten that country into its present condition.
A realignment would likely serve them well too — it isn’t as though they don’t have other goods and services that they could offer, both at home and abroad. Might make them a tidy little profit…with no need for quite so much military adventure…

February 10, 2018: In southern Syria (Golan Heights and Israel border) an Israeli F-16I was shot down by a Russian made Syrian S-200 (SA-5) surface to air missile. This was but on part of a very complex day. It began when an Iranian Saeqeh UAV (launched from an Iranian base in central Syria) entered Israeli air space and was shot down 90 seconds later. The Iranian UAV was a large, batwing design based on an American RQ-170 American UAV the Iranians captured intact after it came down in Iran. Israel used a helicopter (AH-64) launched Spike missile to bring down the Iranian UAV. An airstrike also attacked the vehicle carrying the ground control gear for the Saeqeh UAV. The RQ-170 was designed to be stealthy but apparently the Iranian clones are easily detected by the Israelis, or at least that is the impression the Israelis are giving the Iranians. In addition it was later revealed that it was equipment failure on the Israeli F-16I that enabled the S-200 missile to get close enough to the F-16 that the S-200 warhead explosion damaged the F-16 and prompted the crew to bail out. The F-16 equipment failure apparently limited the ability of the pilot to perform the maneuvers F-16Is use, in addition to electronic countermeasures, rapid maneuvers to avoid being hit by S-200 missiles. This was obvious to observers on the ground who could see that a nearby F-16I made the prescribed dive to avoid the S-200 while the downed F-16 did not.

The eight F-16Is had been sent to hit the Iranian base the UAV came from, especially the operations center for the larger Iranian UAVs operating over Syria. This facility was destroyed and some Iranians were killed. This operation also attacked the UAV control vehicle closer to the Golan Heights. Israeli warplanes had dealt with the SA-5 for years and could destroy all the Syrian SA-5 launchers and radars. But Israel had an understanding with Russia, a nation that was something of a frenemy in Syria and the Russians wanted the SA-5s left alone. Even though the SA-5s were older tech they still posed some risk to Israeli (and American) warplanes and that is what happened to the F-16I today. The aircraft crashed on the Israeli side of the border and the crew of two safely ejected. Israel then prepared to carry out their plan to destroy the Syrian air defense system when the Russian leader called the Israeli leader and asked that the Israeli attack be put on hold. Given the relationship Israel and Russia had developed over many decades, Israel agreed. But now the Russians owed Israel a favor and the Israelis consider that another weapon to use against the Iranian threat in Syria.

The Syrians know their Russian made SA-5s missiles are not very effective against Western fighters and have adopted tactics involve firing a lot of these missiles a at Israeli jets and hope they get lucky. Today it did. The SA-5 is a 1960s design that Russia has updated and Syria received the latest S-200 version of the missile in 2010. This seven ton missile has a range of 300 kilometers but Israel has apparently developed effective countermeasures. In 2016 Russia sent in an SA-10 (S-300) anti-aircraft system to protect their troops in Syria and then upgraded that with SA-12 (S-400).

The Russians have been very adept at using “mercenaries” to do their fighting. Thus far they have gotten away with it (and it also helps to be going up against places like Georgia, or up against terrorist groups that are often manned by Chechens…) — probably because some of our politicians (and other countries’) have been lining their own pockets with backroom deals with the Russians (think: Obama sending home those Russian embassy workers…do you really think it was about some patriotically induced fervor to get bad-guy spies out of this country?…or was it to get them out for other reasons? Uranium One anybody?)

And this has been the problem with the Russians from the get-go: if it advances certain Russian businessmen’s interests, then Russia will act in an aggressive and provocative way…and the actual country and its people be damned…because Russia has its own group of politicians et al. that care perhaps way too much about lining their own pockets and pursuing policy that does that rather than defending the interests of their own country and people. Sound familiar?

So…it is very good (and very telling — the reaction) that 1) Mike Pompeo’s CIA warned the Russian government about that impending terrorist plot; and 2) that these mercenaries got a bit…knocked around the merry-go-round a bit; 3) while Nunes brings up that there was evidence of Russian collusion…with Hillary and the Democrats.
Maybe this will give Vlad an opportunity to consider the better angels of his nature, and we can all just get along.